Poetry is magic. And poems are spells. Poems speak of the in-betweens, the crossroads, the liminal, much like what we find at Creswell Crags, with its portals to deep time. During our Heritage Hack workshops, poet Tyler Turner encouraged our participants to think of their personal everyday rituals. And like a spell, a poem is born of intent and uses specific ingredients. Through examples, the participants were then encouraged to write their own spell poems, listing their ‘ingredients’ and creating a set of instructions or intentions – a recipe if you will – much like writing an algorithm.

You can read the spell poems written by our This Girl Codes participants below.

The Witch Marks in the Cave by Henry Bennett

1) You put witch marks in a cave but don’t put a normal witch mark put in a M or a W

2) Carve it out of stone and your mark will get flipped around. It will turn into a W and that doesn’t affect it but still be careful because witches could still be around…

Spell for Restoring Calmness by Sarah Bennett

• You must be outside and sat bare footed within nature. Away hustle, bustle.
• Sit and listen deeply to surroundings such as birdsong, the faint steps of wildlife, the buzz of a bee.
• Push palms together with feather in between and feel the energy between palms of hand, increasing heat which becomes bright like a light.
• Breathe slow, deep and once you feel the energy rising between palms, open hands and feel the light and heat energy surround you. Feather will rise and float.

Protection Spell by Kevin Bennett

P – Piece of paper to draw your protection symbol upon and hang at every entry point

R – Rope to make a circle to form an impenetrable barrier of positivity.

O – Olive oil to spray around the room adding an extra layer of protection

T – Stand Tall and Time at the optimum time 12:00 noon

E – Energy gather all your positive thoughts from the day, waving the kids off to school, kissing your partner and the love of your family.

C – Courage, be brave, you are stronger than you think. Feed off the positive feelings your surroundings/friends/family give you.

T – Transport yourself to the astral plane to take you out of your situation to protect those that you love.

A spell to not be afraid by Phoebe Barnes

Caves are dark, caves are deep,

Caves are scary, caves are steep,

Caves can be witchy, caves can be not

Candles are light, candles are not, humble

Is bad, oh witches are bad, witches are not

bad…

A Spell to Combat Loneliness in old age by Bill Sheffield

music for noise

TV for images

flowers for smell

food for all 3.

A Spell for Abundance by Sheila Sheffield

Sow the seed

Watch it grow

Plant with care

In a row

Let abundance flow

Protection spell By Alexis Sheffield

(This is a protection spell directed to one of my family’s ancestors who was supposed to be a mermaid called Melusine. She can be contacted by talking to her by a river and she’s  supposed to help her female descendants and bestow them with her powers.)

Melusine

Mother of dreams

Hear your daughter, by the water

Keep me safe from harm

Never let this spell wane

Though clouds will change

Like the moon and stars

This spell will remain

A Spell for Balance by Lisa

• Set yourself a challenge
• Give yourself a treat
• Take some time to think and reflect
• Energise yourself
• Relax & remember to breathe

The Spell of the Morning Ritual by Annie French

Breathe in the new sunrise

Whilst grounding in nature

At the start of a new day

Stillness in the calming breath

As the universe arrives

To gift you that day

Spell for Silent noise by Danny Callaghan

Shout as quietly as you can

Listen to everything, hear nothing

There is no colour, only shade

Taste smell like sounds look

Spell for Peace by Amy Smith

• Walk: one, two, three. Feel the cold, the foggy damp of the water. Tread carefully: one, two, three…submerge the chest and listen to the heartbeat roar.
• Enter a wilderness through the backdoor. Take the shoes off.
• Listen to the happy footsteps of the cat seeking his mummy. Hear the purr on your cheek.
• Hold your breath, dodge the creaking floorboards. Watch them sleep peacefully. I made those girls. Kiss them gently, whisper that promise and go to bed.
• Press the button of the machine. Wait for the milk, next the coffee. And drink; so, it is a new day.

Spell for Philosophy by Elin Bennett-Green

Look up to seek something small

And know inside that it’s actually tall

Even if you feel you are minuscule

Deep down you are known, you are meaningful

Spell for Understanding Mother Grundy a collaborative piece by Delilah Wickins-Parsons and Eadie Maguire

• A cup of kindness
• Misunderstood and criminalised however still cared for the people that needed it.
• Seeking darkness and reflecting on who you truly are.
• Greed and want drives the villagers to bring you back but you see through their mask of kindness and turn down the offer.

Play the Music by Ellie Rostron

The songs of the past are still being sung.

Through the marks and the echoes.

In the dark.

If you listen closely, you can hear them.

The piano key of a sombre song.

The delicate string of a violin.

The silence.

Tap three times.

Play the music

Listen.

Play the music. ­

Spell for a Perfect Evening

5 ingredients

• real friends
• warm night in garden
• drinks
• music
• comfy chairs (maybe blanket)

Mother Grundy’s Parlour by Tyler Turner

Sun sinks into the cleft at the end of the gorge,

pursed between limestone lips.

Evening dusts the lake still,

a reflected moon thickens on its surface.

The parlour sighs at the cliff’s crotch,

its mouth stitched shut with iron thread.

Mother Grundy, hemmed inside herself,

is anchored by an umbilical stalagmite.

They embroidered her mucus-slick walls,

needled her with hammer and chisel

so that she’d never conceive again.

The virgin, Mother to none and to all

time carefully unpicks